Guest Posted May 18, 2003 Report Share Posted May 18, 2003 I think you'd be surprised at the amount of girls who work in the sex industry to pay their way through their studies and for pocket money, in the US and in the UK. Japan has a very high rate of participation. In the UK, I know this happens more than seldom. You wouldn't have the slightest idea unless you were one of her clients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJsushi Posted May 18, 2003 Report Share Posted May 18, 2003 Says valentinoxxx: I think you'd be surprised at the amount of girls who work in the sex industry to pay their way through their studies and for pocket money, in the US and in the UK. Japan has a very high rate of participation. In the UK, I know this happens more than seldom. You wouldn't have the slightest idea unless you were one of her clients. Well I can say with absolute certainty that there are a number of University girls here in Southern California that are "kept women" or they work for the high end escort services. They are not the majority but they are a significant minority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iuytrede Posted May 18, 2003 Report Share Posted May 18, 2003 >>As for a university graduate being encouraged by her mother to work as a prostitute, I'd like to hear the back story on that one! Girl from a village in Khon Kaen, about 23 years old, BA from the University of Udon Thani which means it is almost impossible for her to find a job in Bangkok, she can make something like 8000 B per month upcountry. The family is in no ways poor, but her mother wants what some people call euphemistically "a better life" and told her in no uncertain terms to go to Pattaya and get some money as a prostitute. The girl was very shocked that her mother wanted her to do this. But she found it very difficult not to obey her mother. She talked with friends about it and in the end she did not obey her mother and she did not go to Pattaya. This one was not just encouraged by her mother to work as a prostitute, she was ordered to do so. I know another girl from Isaan who used to be a student at a cheap Bangkok university and started to work as a prostitute without her parents knowing about it. After a year or so her mother found out (mom actually came to her bar). Mom was initially not very happy about it, but when she figured that otherwise the remittances from her daughter would diminish significantly mom encouraged her to go on. This family is not poor either, they own some land and at least one of her brothers has a uni degree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinsin2 Posted May 18, 2003 Report Share Posted May 18, 2003 Have to agree with you. The longer I am around,the more I come across it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardinalblue Posted May 19, 2003 Report Share Posted May 19, 2003 I think it is rare for a Thai girl not to obey her parents. Something within her was strong enough for her to stand up for her self as an individual vs the family loyalty and commitment. A very interesting topic as the family loyality contributes to the high numbers working the prostitution field. So while the original poster might be of a little bit off with his assessment, there does seem to be some different kind of perspective on how some thais can so easily accept/send off their daughters to work the field. Not sure if money, religion, character or what factor(s) are the most important when deciding to have the daughters work in prostitution. I wonder if there are significant west vs east differences or does it really get down to money which would be universal? Cardinalblue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted May 19, 2003 Report Share Posted May 19, 2003 This one was not just encouraged by her mother to work as a prostitute, she was ordered to do so Did you by any chance check the background of the mother? Might be interesting. Shit happens; I agree. But it is not the norm or accepted. Even prostitution is kept behind closed doors except for foreigners or second wives. The idea that the normal Thai accepts, condones and even encourages their daughters to prostitute on a scale you seem to suggest is just wrong. When it is done it is almost always turning a blind eye rather than 'buy my daughter'. But we, the foreigner, who all Thai know are only after one thing and have little or no moral values, probably contact a much higher percentage of the people in the trade. :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iuytrede Posted May 19, 2003 Report Share Posted May 19, 2003 The mother is considered a decent woman, not an ex-prostitute. >> Even prostitution is kept behind closed doors I know quite well that you are basically right. But right now I am sitting in a Bangkok apartment where maybe half of the tenants are white collar workers with a middle-class lifestyle, some are students, even female high school students, and the other half are (quite visibly) prostitutes and kept women. These two social groups do not interact a lot ::. Actually, the "decent" people are hardly seen outside their rooms except on their way to and from work, whereas the not-so-decent people have plenty of time to hang out in the public areas. They are more noisy and more visible so they give the place the appearance that they dominate it. This kind of living arrangements would be completely inconceivable in my homecountry or in any other place where I have lived. There would be a very big social and physical distance between these groups. BTW because of the heat the prostitutes will often leave their doors open (the middle-class people tend to close their doors) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabii Posted May 19, 2003 Report Share Posted May 19, 2003 Dragon, "As it's not that big a deal in thailand, are your gf and her mum in some way involved in the industry?" Zane did not say "it's not that big a deal in Thailand". He said "Among a lot of people in Thailand it's not that big a deal. " Not all, not even most. Simply "a lot". Nor did he say that it's no big deal in his own opinion. "I feel I am extremely impolite to ask you the questions above. But as prostitution is no big deal in your opinion, then I think it's ok for me to ask. " In as much as you misrepresented what Zane wrote, I agree with you that your post was extremely impolite. Regards, JEff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted May 20, 2003 Report Share Posted May 20, 2003 A Looooong time ago I wrote something to the effect that prostitution in Thailand is not viewed as the big, bad immoral thing it is seen as in farangland Although I agree that Zane probably does not believe it as a majority he sure was trying to give the impression he did with the above opening statement and then using the mother/daughter example as a support for that view. He wound us up and believe he fully expected to take some heat. I do not believe many Thai would consider the mother in this case to be much more than a pimp and expect most would find it as disgusting as anyone in farangland. Although I agree with Zane that there is a difference in view I do not believe this example is valid and he should (and I am sure did) expect some harsh replies. You have looked at the words and see qualifiers at the end. But most of us lose our blood pressure half way through so they are just static in the background when we get down that far. Perhaps by design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldtimer Posted May 20, 2003 Report Share Posted May 20, 2003 Interesting discussion. I believe that because there are a heck of a lot of so-called prostitutes in Thai than most other countries, one receives the impression that being a lady of easy virtue is not such a big thing. Indeed, in certain Issan villages that I have visited it is almost the norm for attractive lassies to make their living down south in Bangkok and/or Pattaya. However, in normal Thai society it is completely infra dig to introduce a bar girl on a social occasion. In fact, a British box walla I once knew lost his important job in Bangkok for bringing a lady he lived with, but had meet some years before in Patpong to a corporate function. It seems that its not the Thai chaps who have a problem with ladies of the evening (many of them keep mia nois), rather its the Thai hi-soc ladies who absolutely refuse to socialize with their uneducated Issan sisters. One managing director I know, has a marvelous relationship with a lovely young wife (two adorable kids) who apparently had a shady past, is obliged to keep her at home on all social occasions where Thais are present. Sorry to pour cold water on the theory that hookers are socially acceptable... perhaps in some circles, but by no means all. Although compared to America or the UK, their plight is generally considerably more sympathetically understood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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